What single player videogame should I play? I play videogames for the story so the graphics don’t really matter.

If graphics doesn’t matter, then you’re pretty much sorted for some of the best single player games games ever.

First – any LucasArts Single Player Video Game, especially

Day of the Tentacle

Grim Fandango

Grim Fandango I absolutely cannot recommend enough. Out of all the LucasArts Games I’ve played (and I’ve played a lot), it is definitely the most epic in scope. Also arguably the most moving. It is also one of the best experiences I’ve had in a single player game.

The Monkey Island series (ignoring #4)

These are among the funniest and most endearing games ever made, I personally believe. NERD FACT: The main character was given the name Guybrush in development, when the image file was given the somewhat unimaginative name of Guy.brush.

Next – Half-Life & all of the expansion packs that came with this.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve heard of Half-Life. If you haven’t played it yet, I wholeheartidly recommend you tracking it down alongside the expansion packs that were released afterwards. Be warned – it looks dated. If you are concerned about graphics, look into Black Mesa, which is an attempt to update the original game. People also argue that it is the best single player game ever.

I mentioned some expandion packs, these are Blue Shift& Opposing Force. In Half-Life (Source) you take on the roll of Gordon Freeman. However, both Blue Shift & Opposing Force see you taking on different characters, seeing the events of H-L:S from different perspectives – with the former being as a security guard, and the latter as one of the enemy soldiers from H-L:S. It’s an utterly fantastic way to get the complete game.

While we’re talking about Half-Life & Valve, get Portal 2.

The original Portal game was just a small side project that was released as part of the Orange Box, which also featured Half-Life 2 (and Episode 1 & 2), Team Fortress 2, and Team Fortress Classic. This Portal was a fun game, but for the full experience, you need to get Portal 2.

It is utterly brilliant.

Now, moving away from Valve, let’s look at Red Dead Redemption.

From the creators of GTA, this Wild West game is probably one of Rockstar Games’ best releases. It is epic in scope, with some of the best scenes, storytelling, and music, with all of these culminating in this absolutely glorious scene –

Now… and lastly… the Mass Effect trilogy.

I have to be honest – I don’t know how many hours I sank into ME. Perhaps 300 hours between the three games. Possibly more.

Let’s be honest first; the first game is a bit of a slog. The character animation is dodgy, the MAKO scenes are annoying, and the lift rides are ridiculously long. But it should be played to get the most out of the following two games.

The second game fixes practically everything that was wrong with the first and remains one of the best action RPGs out there.

The third game ramps up the epic scope started by the previous two games.

I also feel like I should apologise right now, as I have probably wasted the next few hundred hours of your life with these recommendations.